This morning, the world public is talking about the new football star, the young player of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kerim Alajbegović.
The national team of Bosnia and Herzegovina achieved great success, advancing to the knockout stage of the World Cup, after defeating Qatar 3:1 in Seattle, and the first goal was a masterpiece by young Kerim.
The talented footballer brought the “dragons” into the lead with a spectacular goal. The Salzburg midfielder fired in from about 25 meters and sent the ball straight into the forks to send Bosnia fans into a frenzy and lead his team to historic success.
That’s right Kerim Alajbegović at only 18 years and 276 days, he became the youngest footballer in the history of the World Cup to score a goal from outside the penalty area (the previous record holder was Kylian Mbappe)
He is after the duel also praised by the famous former football player Zlatan Ibrahimović, and it is known that the Swede does not give compliments so easily.
– Everyone talks about the goal, but for me the goal is not the most important thing. The biggest thing is courage. The 18-year-old at the World Cup, under enormous pressure and in front of millions of spectators, plays as if he owns the stadium. That is rare. There are many talented young players, but talent without character doesn’t mean much. When I watched Kerim, I didn’t see a guy hoping for a good game. I saw a player who believes that he is the best on the field – Ibrahimovic said.
Kerim Alajbegović was born in 2007 in Cologne, and he started his career in the same club. After that, he moved to the academy of the Bayer 04 team from Leverkusen, where he attracted the attention of European scouts with his performances.
In the summer of 2025, he made a career transfer by moving to the ranks of the Austrian giant RB Salzburg. He had a handful of offers this summer, he was a great desire of several Italian clubs, and Inter was particularly interested in him. However, Kerim with the people advising him realized that Salzburg is now the best option for him.
Although he was born in Germany, he had no dilemma as to which team he would play for. He went through all the youth national teams of Bosnia and Herzegovina (up to the age of 15, 17, 19 and 21), where he made a total of 28 appearances with 11 goals and five assists.
He made his debut for the A team in 2025, and scored his first goal in the senior team jersey in the qualifiers against San Marino.
Kerim Alajbegović plays primarily as a left winger, but he can also be an offensive midfielder or even a center forward. He is known for his excellent technique, quick movement with the ball, and is also known for his excellent execution of breaks.
In Bosnia, he received the status of a hero after the semifinals of the play-off for the World Cup in Cardiff. Kerim cold-bloodedly took the decisive penalty against Wales, which silenced the home crowd and enabled his team to play against Italy in Zenica, where they also advanced after the penalty, and now at the World Cup they have “exited” from the group and the knockout phase will follow.
Until the match with Qatar, Alajbegbović was not under pressure and not every touch he made with the ball was “scrutinized, but now he has gained the status of a new football star and we will see in the next match (or matches) whether he has matured as a football player or if he still needs some time to be the leader of the national team of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
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